Fishing: Morocco and Russia extend their agreement, promised “a promising future”

In the years to come, will Russian ships supplant European ones in the Kingdom’s territorial waters, including off the coast of the Southern Provinces?

According to the Spanish press agency Europa Presswhich cites diplomatic sources, the fishing agreement between Morocco and Russia, which expired in September, was extended until the end of this year.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Moroccan Embassy in Moscow exchanged notes relating to a temporary extension of the validity of the fishing agreement, concluded on September 14, 2020, pending the conclusion of a new agreement, “more beneficial for both parties“, noted Europa Press.

The agreement grants Russian vessels an annual fishing quota of 140,000 tonnes, mainly small pelagic fish, in the Kingdom’s Atlantic economic zone.

Now more ambitious, bilateral cooperation in maritime fishing has “a promising future“, explains the press agency, “in harmony with the Kingdom’s strategy of diversification of international partnerships».

Some time ago, the members of a Joint Moroccan-Russian Commission on Fisheries, meeting in Rabat, examined the terms of future cooperation which would cover the entire Atlantic coast, from Tangier to Lagouira.

In Western Europe, owners of deep-sea fishing boats, especially the Spanish, have not hidden their disappointment since the end of the fishing agreement with Morocco, announced in July 2023. Their last hopes have been dampened by the recent decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

The agreement allowed 128 vessels from 11 EU member countries to fish in Moroccan waters.

Spain, which is the largest beneficiary, with 93 ships, was the first to react to the European Court’s decision.

Luis Planas, Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, reaffirmed the day after the verdict the importance of “stability» Morocco’s relations with Spain and the European Union (EU), beyond the judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU.

«If anyone believes that a ruling from the Court of Justice could compromise the stability of Morocco’s relations with Spain or with the European Union, they are wrong.“, he said.

In fact, the verdict of the European Court in no way prohibits agreements in a bilateral framework between a European country and the Kingdom of Morocco.